The Free Isles - Regional Map

Introduction

The Free Isles lie off of the North West coast of Bormaris and until about 35 years ago were a province of this realm. It's capital, Safeharbour, lies at the north-eastern tip of the main island of Celidor. Other notable sites include the town of Avondale, the fishing village of Deephaven, the Dwarven mining city at Dal Skyr, the Elven forest of Deepdale and the nearby town of Poppleton, site of the University of Mages. The farm lands of the north coast are served by the village of Eden and the sheltered Seal Bay. To the south east of the Liberty Passage are a string of Islands Known as The Pearls. Uninhabited apart from a few hardy penitents they are believed to be the home of dragons and other mythical beasts unknown in the rest of the Free Isles. Possibly the strangest place is The Isle of Ashes. This large island has at it's centre Karn Evil, a permanently smoking volcano that has covered the island with ash. Nobody lives there and the few that have ventured into its grey wastes return with tales of demons and rubies the size of duck eggs.

Safeharbour

Safeharbour is the capital of the Free Isles and the home of the First of the Free. A modern city, rebuilt after the War Of Independance in which it was mostly razed by the Bomarian navy. It has wide streets and elegant stone buildings paid for by the gems and precious metals extracted from the mines at Dal Skyr.

The Isle Of Ashes

This large island is dominated by the massive peak of Karn Evil, a volcano that has erupted several times in human memory. It's name is a corruption of the Dwarven Karr Eve which roughly translates as High Death or possibly Thanatos Peak. The plains around the volcano are covered in deep layers of ash. Rumours abound on this isolated, uninhabited island, some travellers who have visited there, intentionally or unintentionally tell tales of fiends with huge leathery wings, rubies the size of duck eggs, beaches with garnets instead of sand. Strangely none of these adventurers ever come back with more than tales, and others who follow often fail to return. While under the protection of Bormaris, the island was used as a penal colony and many a offender was sent there. It was understood that a sentence of transportation to the Isle of Ashes was worse than a death sentence.

Poppleton

This small town on Celidor's west coast is a port on the river Popple. The sheltered harbour and quaint houses were the last sign of civilisation that any saw before being taken to the Isle Of Ashes. These days the main reason people visit Poppleton is its college of magic. Established before the Kinship Wars, it dominates the town. A tall crenellated wall surrounding a series of keeps and towers is all that the general population sees of the college. Petitioners to the mages apply at the guest-house that stands beside the main gate into the grounds. The mages are known for their arrogance and sour demeanour but their worth to the Free Isles during the War of Indepedance has never been forgotten.

The Forest Of Deepdale

This dark forbidding forest is home to one of the last elven colonies in the Western Realms. Hunted almost to extinction before the Kinship Wars by superstitious townsfolk, then blamed for the Great Plague that decimated the population some 70 years ago to which they were immune, elves have been almost eradicated from the mainland. The clan at Deepdale is relatively large, some 100 souls, and they tend to keep away from humans, not trusting them. Some do mix and they are probably treated with more respect in The Free Isles then anywhere else. It is rumoured that a Deepdale elf acts as an advisor to the First Of The Free.

Eden

Eden is a small town that services the needs of the large area of the northern plains of Celidor. This region is fertile and provides most of the food that the populous needs to live. Only luxury foodstuffs need to be imported from the mainland. The only other settlements in the area are isolated hamlets and individual farmsteads.

Dal Skyr

This dwarven city is almost permanently shrouded in a thick grey smog from the forges that give it its name. It is situated in a col between two peaks in the Whitecap range and overlooks the valleys of the Upper Popple and the Dart. The mountains in this region are riddled with mineshafts, adits and quarries that honeycomb the geology in the search for iron, gold, silver and gems. These have all been found in abundance and the Dwarven king Naric IV is one of the wealthiest people in the Western Realms. The dwarves have been mining in Dal Skyr for many dwarven generations and as such there are many areas which are now worked out. King Naric IV is worried that his profits might start to fall unless new veins are found and soon. He has repeatedly petitioned the mages of Poppleton for aid in locating new deposits of gold but they have refused to help him.

Deephaven

Deephaven is a small fishing village at the most south westerly point of the island of Celidor. The harbour can only be approached from the sea by a tunnel carved by the waves. Once through the tunnel, which is almost half a mile long, you enter a large calm harbour. Even during the worst storms the water here is like a mill pond. Some of the best kippers are smoked in the Deephaven smoke-houses and they often find their way onto the plates of the richest people in the Western Realms.

Seal Bay

This town on the north west coast of Celidor is so named for the seals that can often be seen basking amongst the fishing boats on the wide beach. A quiet sleepy town where nothing much has ever happened. Merchants in Safeharbour often refer to a bad day as "As slow as Seal Bay".

Grim Dell

"A twisted forest. Dark and cursed" so runs the first line of the famous poem "The Lay Of Aromar". It could have been written for this expanse of ancient woodland north-west of Avondale. The people living in the small farming villages that are scattered around its perimeter instil a fear and loathing of the forest into their children. It is from here that the Bogeymen come to eat little boys, goblins to steal away noisy girls and spirits to scare those who don't wash behind their ears. Like all folktales, there is a germ of truth behind these stories. Goblins and orcs do live in the woods. Ghosts and lesser undead do flit between the boles of the ancient trees and other strange creatures have been seen dancing around eerie fires late at night. Most people avoid the woods but those who's journeys take them through it never travel alone or at night.

The Whitecaps

This mountain range runs along the centre of the island of Celidor. Its highest peaks, near Dal Skyr in the south west are almost 3500 feet high. Crystal clear lakes and expanses of untouched snow are common. So however are giants. They are very unwelcoming to visitors apart from a small clan of hill giants in the area near Avondale. Led by their chief Bluster they have done much work for the town such as building and repairing bridges. Rumours of Ice Elves and other such strange creatures can be ignored as can tales of a huge underground realm where gems grow on trees and rivers of gold run through caverns of diamond.